Foreign investors have a number of visa options when they are buying an existing U.S. business. One of the best-known is the E-2 treaty investor visa, which allows a citizen of a treaty nation the permission to make a substantial investment in a U.S. business and closely manage its operations. Or there is the EB-5 immigrant investor program, which offers a green card for investing $1.05 million (or $800,000 in high-unemployment or rural areas that are targeted) in an initial commercial venture that creates at least 10 full-time American workers. Notably, EB-5 can be employed to buy an existing business provided the investment increases the business’s net value or workforce by at least 40%, or the business is restructured to represent a “new” company. Investors with an existing foreign business may also take advantage of the L-1 intracompany transferee visa by acquiring an American business and transferring oneself or high-level managers to the U.S. subsidiary, and this may further result in an EB-1C multinational executive green card if the foreign and U.S. businesses are sufficiently sized and have a certain length of operation. Each category has its own set of requirements, so the right strategy will vary with the investor’s nationality, investment level, and business plans. Passive investments themselves grant no visa status – the investor usually must become actively involved through one of the foregoing visa categories in order to live and work in the United States.